The Three Secretaries 183 



with his own hand daily a large number of briefs of letters 

 for the signature of the Secretary. 



The development of the natural history collections was the 

 work for which he cared the most. As has already been in- 

 dicated, the private collection which he brought with him to 

 Washington formed the nucleus of the Smithsonian Museum. 

 The only specimens in the possession of the Institution at the 

 time of his arrival were a few boxes of minerals and plants. 

 The gatherings of the Wilkes expedition the legal nucleus 

 of the Museum were at that time under the charge of the 

 National Institute and arranged in the Patent Office building; 

 but it was not until 1857 that the Regents finally consented 

 that this material should be transferred to its building. Be- 

 fore this time Congress had granted no funds for the support 

 of the Smithsonian cabinets, and its collections had been ac- 

 quired and cared for at the expense of its own endowment. 

 They had, however, become so large and important before 

 1857 that the so-called "National Collection" at that time 

 acquired was but small in comparison. 



The National Museum had thus a double origin, its actual, 

 though not its legal, nucleus having been the collection as- 

 sembled at the Smithsonian prior to 1857. Its methods 

 of administration were the very same which had been de- 

 veloped by Professor Baird in Carlisle as early as 1845, 

 and are still in use, having stood the test of nearly fifty 

 years without any necessity for their modification having 

 become apparent. 



In the fifth annual report of the Institution, now exceed- 

 ingly rare, is a communication by the Assistant Secretary in 

 charge of the Natural History Department, which after enu- 

 merating the specimens belonging to the Museum January i, 

 1851, discussed fully the possibilities for the development of 

 natural history collections in Washington a remarkable 



